Importance of Hydration while playing Golf

Few months ago, i read about results of a study about hydration and how much it (or lack of it) can affect your physical performance. It’s been two months since i started hydrating myself consciously, and i have to say, my feelings do confirm that drinking lots of water increases your productivity on the golf course. Not only on the golf course, but i feel happier overall. Waking up is more pleasurable, so is resting after long walk. This isn’t golf related, but i have one more tip for those who don’t sleep well – drink at least a glass of water before going to sleep.

When you’re being physically active, like when you’re playing golf, it’s important to drink even more water than usual. Definitely drink before and after workouts, but i have mixed feelings about during workouts. It makes me feel tired and less focused. But everyone’s different, try it out yourself and see how it feels. Effects of drinking more water are even more noteworthy when it’s summer and weather is hot. As opposed to drinking beer, which makes you feel good by dumbing down your senses, water actually cools your body and helps it function better. As a result of that, you’ll feel better as well. Remember to always carry bottle of water with you on the golf course. If you’re caught completely dehydrated, you might experience dizziness and fatigue. If you haven’t had enough water, you’ll definitely lose coordination and i promise, it will affect your game. Not only that, but dehydration affects all parts of your body – from brain to muscles – equally. They all suffer because of your decision to not drink enough water. In summer, especially, your body excretes lots of fluids, and it needs some source of fluids to stay at its top shape. I recommend drinking at least 100 ounces a day.

Having the right golf club bag is also important. Your bag should have room for water bottles and other accessories. I have Callaway Strata Ultimate set and it’s very good. Here’s the review to give you idea about it’s pros and cons.

Water’s not the only source of hydration though. Lots of my friends have had good results with drinking sports drinks. It’s especially recommended to choose sports drinks over water during the exercise. These drinks have just enough sugar to keep you at top performance, and they can replenish fluids lost to sweating and even some electrolytes like sodium that plain water can’t provide. The downside to these drinks is that their effects mostly depend on somewhat high amounts of sugar. Because of that, they contain more calories, so if you’re concerned about keeping your weight or keeping the level of sugar in your blood low, you might want to think twice before drinking sports drinks. Other good option is to dilute these drinks with water, so that you’re still getting necessary nutrients, but not too much sugar.

As you can probably guess, i don’t drink alcohol during golf games and don’t recommend it to anyone. It may feel good, but it makes your performance worse. I haven’t had much experience with sodas and juices, either good or bad, but i think they should be fine in small doses. Overall, the safest option is definitely water.